The present invention relates to packages which contain a food product and an additional aroma component and the manufacture thereof so that, upon opening the package, the consumer will smell the aroma.
It is disclosed in the food art that it is, in some cases, desirable to add an aroma composition to the headspace of a package containing a food product to increase and to stress an olfactory sensation, the smell, of freshness and the uniqueness of the food product so that upon opening the package, a consumer's appetite will be whetted.
A system for aromatising a headspace of a food package is disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 0 706 944, wherein an aroma composition is dissolved in a liquid, and then the aromatized liquid is dispensed in a gaseous form into the headspace, such as by, for example, means of a spray nozzle, or by other dispenser suitable for introducing the liquid into the headspace.
Another system for aromatising a headspace of a food package is disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 0 814 023. In this system, a noble gas, such as argon, or an inert gas, may be employed for introducing an aroma composition, which is soluble in or mixable with the gases, into a package headspace. This system allows for a direct mixing of gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen or mixtures thereof, which are employed conventionally for modifying a package atmosphere, and which may be accomplished with a gas mixer via mixing pre-selected proportions of the components to obtain an aromatized gas mixture which then is injected into packages using gas packing machines known in the art.
Although the systems discussed above and although others known in the art may provide an enhanced olfactory perception upon the opening of a package so aromatized, in some cases, however, certain types of food products and certain types of aroma compositions may be incompatible when co-packed in the same space. Significantly, too, co-packing of a food product and an added aroma composition together in the same space may result in the aromas provided by the aroma composition being absorbed by the food product, even within a few days of packing, which will result in, relatively in the context of the aroma-producing potential of the aroma composition employed, reduced aroma impact upon package opening and may result, in turn over a period of storage, in there being almost no excess aroma present in the headspace for release for user perception upon package opening. So, too, if the aroma composition is dissolved in a solvent introduced into a headspace, the solvent may dissolve in the food product, which likewise will tend to reduce the aroma impact sought to be achieved upon package opening. Further, because an amount of headspace aroma absorption may differ from lot-to-lot of commercially manufactured products, and even possibly from unit-to-unit of a same lot (or batch), there is chance of, upon package opening, variability between the aroma strength perceived by the user/consumer from a plurality of packages.